But it was Reading’s second goal – when Sam Morsy was about to return the ball to the home goalkeeper after an injury-enforced break in play, only to be dispossessed by an opponent who fed Mo Barrow, who rifled in from 30 yards – that left the sourest taste in the mouth.

“To put it all to bed, there has to be an outcome to make it better,” Cook opined.

“And unfortunately in football, there’s not an outcome that can make that better.

“We’ve been led to believe that all three Reading goals should not have stood.

“Now that’s big to take as a manager...when three big decisions go against you.

“That equaliser on 89 minutes is just not correct. You will never see another goal like that.

“Every single team gives the ball back to the goalie.

“An unsporting team might kick it out for a goal-kick, an even less sporting team might kick it out for a throw-in, deep in the corner.

“But what happened to us on Saturday is not football...at any level.

“Sadly the referee is obviously going to be in a bit of bother for it.

“Like I told him on Saturday: We trust you to referee the game. You control this game.

“You can debate football all you like, tactics, formations, managers’ substitutions, whatever.

“But when a goal is scored against you that should not be allowed – in the last minute – it has such an effect on you.”

Cook says the club has been informed that they had good reason for feeling aggrieved.

“The feedback normally is things like: Has the referee influenced the game? Did the referee cost Wigan Athletic?” Cook revealed.

“All the questions came back in our favour. Every single one.

“To have all three things go against us is hard to take.

“If the referee is stood down – and that’s the feedback we might receive – we don’t want that.

“I just want referees to improve.”

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